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occco September 6, 2022 Mayor Sarmiento and City Council Members City of Santa ana 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: Item#26 Long-Term Implementation Plan for the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinances Dear Mayor and City Council Members, OCCCO develops transformational leaders within diverse, multicultural, interfaith communities who together have the power to shape equitable public policy throughout Orange County. We raise awareness about the lack of affordable housing and work towards a housing system that is committed to dignity for all. We organize groups of parents and community leaders who work together to improve the quality of education through civic engagement. We advocate for policies that provide protection for immigrants and we work to reconstruct our immigration system into one that gives dignity to all. We are writing to support some of the recommendations brought forward by staff for the long-term implementation of the City's Rent Stabilization (RSO) and Just Cause Evictions ordinances (JCEO). The City's RSO and JCEO have brought much-needed protections for Santa Ana's families by keeping housing affordable and reducing the displacement of Santa Ana residents. To continue making progress toward the protection of tenants, we must strengthen the enforcement of the ordinances to prevent loopholes and landlord harassment. Current absence of a clear enforcement process is allowing for inconsequential violations of the ordinances and, more importantly, abuse of power and harassment by landlords. Long-term tenants living in rental units, some for over 20 years, now find themselves with substantially different rental agreements that include separate utility fees (that were previously part of their rental payment) and predatory late fees. In some instances, families are seeing a $125 per day rental late fee. Tenants who refuse to sign these aggressive rental covenants are harassed and threatened with eviction. These loopholes are contributing to self-evictions, where tenants are in-directly forced out of their homes and social support networks due to fear of retaliation, their immigration status, lack of legal representation, and complex court proceedings. We recommend and/or support the following changes to the Long-Term Implementation Plan for the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinances to strengthen the enforcement of the ordinance and reduce the incidences of displacement: Orange County Congregation Community Organization 310 W Broadway,Anaheim CA 92805 www.occcopico.org (714) 491-0771